Shelbie Serpan
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JOHNSON CITY (Oct. 30, 2013) – East Tennessee State University senior Shelbie Serpan represented the United States at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) – World Championships competition last Friday and placed 11th in the world.
The World Championships, which was held in Wroclaw, Poland, is the largest and most prestigious weightlifting competition next to the Olympic Games.
Serpan was one of seven from the U.S. who competed in her weight class. She qualified for the World Championships after competing at a senior national event earlier this year. During the summer, she also qualified to participate in the Pan American Weightlifting Championship in Venezuela.
Serpan is a native of Clearwater, Kan., and arrived at ETSU in January.
“The reason I chose ETSU was because it was home to an Olympic Training Center in weightlifting, so I can train and go to school full-time,” said Serpan, who is studying exercise science.
Serpan says she is now training for the 2016 Olympic Games and will also pursue a spot at the 2020 and 2024 events.
ETSU received designation as an official Olympic Training Center for weightlifting in March 2012.